3 ms·

The fun for me's in getting all the intonation and emphasis just right. You don't have to "do the voices" or anything over the top, but just try to read it how

by ashark 9y ago

The fun for me's in getting all the intonation and emphasis just right. You don't have to "do the voices" or anything over the top, but just try to read it how a good narrator might. Try reading them adult books (if you're not already—and especially classics, they tend to have really nice prose that you want to run your eyes over several times just for the sensation, anyway) or classics of children's literature (e.g. The Jungle Book). Might help. Lots of childrens' books are just plain bad.

roceasta 9y ago
>intonation and emphasis just right. Yes. The emphasis carries a lot of information in addition to the simple text. I find it hard to do when reading aloud from a book I haven't myself read before. In fact I think it's one reason I tend to pick my personal childhood favourites to read. Perhaps this is lazy. I wonder if other parents do the same?
- ashark 9y ago
  It's a skill you get better at. Correctly guessing most of the time, looking a little ahead when you can, that kind of thing. Like sight reading music, really. Combination of well-trained intuition that mostly gets things right and sneaking a peak at the next few notes or bars when you have the opportunity. Definitely works some different mental muscles than silent reading. [EDIT] I've read my kids a couple old favorites, though not ones I've read recently. In part I've used them as an excuse to get through entries my personal to-read list, in fact. Multitasking! Especially when they're really young, they don't know the difference. My 4-year-old's super into Ovid right now, which is awesome. Have to skip the too-sexy or ultra-violent (or, uh, both) bits, but it's working alright.
a_e_k 9y ago
Probably my favorite to read out loud that way is A Christmas Carol. Dickens originally wanted to be an actor, found fame as a writer instead, and brought the two passions together by ging public performances reading/reciting his stories. You can really tell that A Christmas Carol was meant to be read out with a bit of zest.

by ashark 9y ago

roceasta 9y ago

>intonation and emphasis just right. Yes. The emphasis carries a lot of information in addition to the simple text. I find it hard to do when reading aloud from a book I haven't myself read before. In fact I think it's one reason I tend to pick my personal childhood favourites to read. Perhaps this is lazy. I wonder if other parents do the same?

ashark 9y ago
It's a skill you get better at. Correctly guessing most of the time, looking a little ahead when you can, that kind of thing. Like sight reading music, really. Combination of well-trained intuition that mostly gets things right and sneaking a peak at the next few notes or bars when you have the opportunity. Definitely works some different mental muscles than silent reading. [EDIT] I've read my kids a couple old favorites, though not ones I've read recently. In part I've used them as an excuse to get through entries my personal to-read list, in fact. Multitasking! Especially when they're really young, they don't know the difference. My 4-year-old's super into Ovid right now, which is awesome. Have to skip the too-sexy or ultra-violent (or, uh, both) bits, but it's working alright.

a_e_k 9y ago

Probably my favorite to read out loud that way is A Christmas Carol. Dickens originally wanted to be an actor, found fame as a writer instead, and brought the two passions together by ging public performances reading/reciting his stories. You can really tell that A Christmas Carol was meant to be read out with a bit of zest.